Rotary engine motor, compressor, and the like



Sept. 18, 1934. H, C. PHlLLlPS 1,974,122

ROTARY ENGINE, MOTOR, COMPRESSOR, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 14, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 nl l l l ht! ll H. c. PHILLIPS 1,974,122

ROTARY ENGINE, MOTOR, COMPRESSOR, AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Shea 2 Sept. 18, 1934.

Filed Feb. 14, 1931 Patented Sept. 18, 1934 ROTARY ENGINE, MOTOR, COMPRESSOR,

AND THE LIKE 'y Harry Clarence Phillips, Gloucester, England, as-

signor of one-half to Herbert Playford Sheppard, Gloucester, England Application February 14, 1931, seria1N'.-515 ,ss4 In Great Britain February 26,1930

3 Claims. (Cl. 103-136) This invention relates to rotary engines such as motors,"pumps, compressors, exhausters and the like of the type in which rollers or the like are, in the working of the engine, caused to travel around and in contact with the wall orsurface of a circular or cylindrical chamber or bore formed in the casing or body of the engine, the said rollers constituting the working pistons of the engine and beingso operatively associated with the engine shaft (driving shaft inthe case of a pump'or compressor, and driven shaft in the case of a motor) that in their movements around said chamber they form spaces of varying size within the said chamber.

In arotary enginek according to the present invention the rollers constituting the pistons are located loosely in openings or spaces between equidistantly spaced projections, arms or the like attached to or formed. on the face of al plate or disc yoperatively. associatedA with the engine shaft and Veccentrieally disposedrelative tothe centre of thebore or chamber in which the rollers are located, said projections desirably extending only partially across said chamber, the construction and arrangements being such that in the working vof .the engine the said rollers, in their movements around on the annular face of thesaid bore orchamber move radially outwardly and inwardly in the'space's between the saidarms, while maintaining substantially close working contactlwith the face'of the chamber andk with a fixed cylindrical pin located centrally in the said chamber between the rollers. Y

AFurther features of an engine acco'rdmg to the invention are hereinafter describedwith reference to and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings.

In ther drawings, Fig. vl is a sectional elevation, taken on theline 1-1 of Fig. `2 ofan engine according to theiinvention g Y Fig. 2 is a front or end view of the engine the right half being Vin transverse section on the line 2--2of'Figr1- L fl i Fig. 3' is a half plan View of the engine'sho'wn in Fig. 1. J f A v Fig. 4 shows-inrsectional elevation, a portion of the enginelembodying modifications hereinafter described.

Fig. 5-is a sectional elevation of one of the rollers. o v g Like reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings which show, by way of 'example only, an engine designed to function asa liquid pump.

In the drawings,:1 is the casing or body of the` engine, v2 the circular or cylindrical chamber or bore within the body 1, in which are located the hereinbefore mentioned rollers 3the said bore or chamber 2 in the embodiment illustrated being formed within a liner 4 of steel or other appropriate metal fitted within a circular or cylindrical chamber formed in the body casting 1 of the engine, the said liner 4 being keyed to the body 1 by means of a pin 5 (Fig. 2). 6 is the hereinbefore mentioned disc or plate, and 7 the V-shaped arms or projections which in the embodiment illustrated are formed integrallyr with the 'disc 6 and project from the face thereof into the bore 01 chamber 2 as clearly shown'in Fig. l, the rollers 3 being located in the spaces between the faces of adjacent arms 7 as shown in Fig."2. On account of. the driving arms 7 projecting only partially across the chamber 2, and not vcontacting with the other side wall, `the pumping actionr is augmented by utilizingthe additional Zones between the rollers within the rotor arms.

In the embodiment illustrated the disc or plate 6 is formed integrally on the end of the engine kshaft 8, and,as vshown in Figs. 1 and 4, the disc 6 isflocated in the 'housing or cover plate-9, which in .the embodiment illustrated is formed integrally with the housing 10 containingvthe Vbearing for the shaft 8. v

As shown in Fig. 1 the bearing comprises ball and `roller bearings of known construction located within the housing 10, and spaced apart by means ofa bush 11, having formed `in it lubricating 'ducts 12. The races of the ball and roller bearings are held in position in known manner by means of the nut 13 screwed. up on the threaded portion of theshaft v,

The casting comprising the housing9 for `the disc 6 and thefhousingl for the shaft bearing is secured by studs and nuts 14 to the `adjacent flanged end or sideof the engine body or casing 1.-

As already mentioned, and aswill beseen from the drawings, the disc 6 is arranged on the shaft 8" concentric with the axis of said shaft,` and the said disc and shaft are eccentrically disposed relative to the centre of the chamber 2.`

15 is the hereinbefore mentioned xed central pin secured (for instance, as shown, by the nut 16, Fig. 1) to the removable end wall or cover plate 17 secured to the end or side of the casing or body 1 remotefrom the disc 6, for'instance by means of studsand nuts 18. As clearly shown in Figpl, the said central pin 15 projects from the inner face of the wall or cover plate 1'7, and may extend completely across the chamber 2."

19 shows the arrangement of a bush or sleeve which may be mounted on the pin 15, such as sleeve extending as shown from the inner face of the end wall or cover plate 17 completely across the chamber 2 to the face of the disc 6. The outer diameter of such a sleeve may be as desired to give the necessary working clearance, or play, between it and the rollers 3 to suit liquids of various viscosities which may be dealt with in a pump` constructed in accordance with this invention.

Furthermore, when owing 4to various causes theH working clearance, or play, has become excessive, a new sleeve of larger diameter may be tted on the pin 15, and in this simple manner` take up the unnecessary clearance. It will be understood that such a sleeve may be omitted from the arrangement if desired, in which case the pm 15 would be of a diameter equal to that of the sleeve shown, and would be carried across chamber 2 as far as the face of the disc 6.

20 are annular ribs formed on the outer side of the disc 6 and located in concentrically arranged annular recesses in the part 9a of the housing 9, an appropriate clearance being provided between the annular ribs 20 and the said recesses to permit of free movement of the ribs in the recesses when the disc 6 is rotating. Such annular ribs are intended to act to resist the tendency of liquids, of the non-lubricating class, to reach the bearing or bearings of the machine when same is for use as a pump, by providing a labyrinth, in'which the said liquids are subject to centrifugal action, and in this manner carried away from the said bearing or bearings. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, the ball or roller bearings would be preferably lubricated by grease which can be supplied to same by way of the plug l0a on the bearing housing 10.

As already mentioned, the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings is a liquid pump, and the body casting 1 therefore comprises the inlet and outlet branches 21 and 22 for'admission of the liquid to be pumped to and its outlet from the chamber 2. 23, Fig. 2, is the inlet opening or port formed in the wall of the Achamber or bore 2, so as to provide communication between the chamber and the inlet duct 2l, a similar port (not shown) being provided in the wall of the chamber 2 at the opposite side thereof to make communication between the chamber and the outlet duct 22.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the ball or roller bearings of Fig. 1 are dispensed with, the shaft 8 having its bearing in a simple bearing sleeve or bush 24.v

25 shows a ring surrounding the bearing 24 and located in a recess in the' housing 9, the vertically disposed face of the/said ring 25 abutting against, or being in close working contact with, the face 26 of the hereinbefore mentioned driving disc or plate 6, and the said ring 25 may thus act as a renewable thrust washer or the like. The thickness of the said ring 25, may also bev varied to suit the varying viscosities or liquids which may be dealt with in a pump 4constructed in accordancewith this invention. Furthermore, such ring 25 may be made of an angle section as shown in Fig'. 4, in such manner that the said ring 25 forms'an annular chamber 25a surrounding the inner end of the bearing 24. The said bearing may be lubricated by means of grease cups or lubricators mounted upon a boss or bosses 27, shown at the upper part ofthe bearing housing 10. When the liquid which has to be dealt with bythe pump is water, or any liquid which it is desired shall be free from lubricant, the annular chamber 25a becomes full of the said liquid at a pressure capable of preventing the ingress of lubricant to the recess in the housing 9 which accommodates the disc or plate 6. A connection such as 25b may be made as between the said annular chamber 25a and the pressure side of the pump, to ensure that liquid at a pressure shall at all times ll the said annular chamber, and thus prevent the ingress of lubricant asvbefore mentioned.

As shown in Figs. l and 4 the sleeve 19 on the xed central pin l5 is in substantially close working Contact at its opposite ends respectively with the inner face of the removable end wall or cover plate 17 and the face of the driving disc or plate 6. Also as shown in Fig. l the rollers 3 are of a length to extend from the inner face of the removable end wall or cover plate 17 to the face of the disc or plate 6, the ends of the rollers being in substantially close working contact with the inner face of the wall or cover 17 and the face of the disc 6. v

Further, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the face of the disc or plate 5 adjacent to or at the inner end of the chamber 2 is in substantially close working contact at its marginal portions indicated by the reference 6a in Fig. l with the adjacent faces of the body casting 1 and liner 4.

The projections or arms 7 on the face of the driving disc 6 are preferably, as shown in Fig. 2, V-shaped in cross section, the outer sides of the said projections 7 in' the embodiment illustrated being curved to a radiusand arranged to be clear of the wall or face of the chamber or bore 2.

For operating the engineas a pump the shait' would vbe driven by an appropriate source of power, for instance an electric motor, and, as will be seen, the rotation of the shaft, together with the driving disc or, plate 6 causes the projections or drivers 7 on the face of the said plate to carry the rollers 3 around the annular space in the chamber 2 between its cylindrical wall or face and the sleeve 19 on the xed central pin 15; in this movement of the rollers around the chamber 2, due to the eccentricity as between the centre of the driving plate 6 and the centre of the chamber or bore 2, the rollers move outwardly and inwardly relative to the disc 6 in the spaces between the V-shaped projections or arms with the driving faces of which the rollers 3 are in contact and on which faces the rollers roll slightly to and fro. Also in the movements of the rollers around the chamber 2, it will be seen that spaces or chambers of increasing and decreasing capacities are formed between adjacent rollers and the face or wall of the chamber or bore 2 upon which the rollers slide and the aforesaid central hub, pin or sleeve constitute with the rollers the boundaries of such spaces or chambers. It will be understood that liquid to be pumped, admitted through the inlet 21 and port 23, Fig. 2, to the space between adjacent rollers 3 will, as the rollers are carried round the chamber 2, be conveyed to the oppositely situated outlet port leading to the outlet 22, and will` be delivered or forced out from the chamber 2'to the outlet 22 at a pressure resulting from the decrease in capacity of said spaces due to adjacent rollers approaching each other. Y

It the engine is to be used as a motor fluid under pressure being admitted to the space in the chamber or bore 2 between adjacent rollers will act on the rollers and cause same to pass around the bore or chamber 2, and as in this movement the rollers 3 are acting against the faces of the V-shaped projections or drivers 7 on the disc or plate 6 the engine shaft will consequently be rotated or driven.

In an embodiment of the invention for use as a motor it will be understood that appropriately proportioned fluid pressure inlet and exhaust ports would be arranged in place of the inlet and delivery ports 21 and 22 of the pump casing illustrated in the drawings.

From the foregoing description with reference to the drawings it will be understood that the rollers 3 are loosely or freely accommodated between the faces of adjacent arms 7.

An engine or a pump according to this invention is both simple and robust in construction, and while having a minimum of moving or working parts is highly efficient in action.

What I claim is:-

1. A rotary engine comprising a casing providing a cylindrical chamber, inlet and outlet ports to said chamber, a bearing formed in one side wall of said chamber eccentrically thereof, a rotor carried by said bearing, driving arms on said rotor, a hub Xed to the other side wall centrally of said chamber, and roller pistons disposed between said arms and making working contact with said hub and the peripheral wall of the chamber to form piston chambers therebetween the size of which piston chambers in the working of the engine varies owing to the relative motion occurring between said rollers and said arms said driving arms rotating freely within said chamber and projecting only partially across it so as not to contact with the other side wall, whereby the pumping action is augmented by utilizing the additional zones between the rollers within the rotor arms.

2. A rotary engine comprising a casing providing a cylindrical chamber, inlet and outlet ports to said chamber, a bearing formed in one side wall of said chamber eccentrically thereof, a rotor carried by said bearing, driving arms on said rotor, a hub fixed to the other side wall centrally of said chamber, a sleeve surrounding said hub and extending for the width of the chamber, and roller pistons disposed one between each pair of said arms making working contact with said sleeve and the peripheral wall of the chamber to form piston chambers therebetween the size of which in the working of the engine varies owing to the relative motion occurring between said rollers and said arms said driving arms rotating freely within said chamber and projecting only partially across it so as not to contact with the other side Wall, whereby the pumping action is augmented by utilizing the additional zones between the rollers within the rotor arms.

3. A rotary engine comprising in combination a casing providing a cylindrical chamber, inlet and outlet ports to the chamber, a rotor carried by one side wall of and eccentrically disposed within said chamber, driving arms on said rotor, a hub xed to the other side wall of said chamber and roller pistons disposed between said arms making continual peripheral contact with said hub and with the cylindrical wall of the chamber, and having their ends in nominal contact respectively with the rotor face and said other side wall of the chamber thereby forming a plurality of piston chambers bounded internally by said hub andexternally by said sleeve said driving arms rotating freely within said chamber and projecting only partially across it so as not to contact with the other side wall, whereby the pumping action is augmented by utilizing the additional zones between the rollers within the rotor arms.

HARRY CLARENCE PHILLIPS. 

